Government will make an ex gratia payment of $1 million each to the families of the deceased divers involved in the Paria/LMCS tragedy, as well as the lone survivor, Christopher Boodram.
Prime Minister Stuart Young made the announcement at Thursday’s Post Cabinet Media Briefing.
“Recognising the difficulty and the trauma and the tragic circumstances of these divers and we’re going to make ex gratia payments of $1 million to each of the families of the deceased divers, and to Mr. Boodram.”
The Prime Minister also dispelled claims that the payment was an election ploy.
“I can’t change that perception of people and I can understand the cynicism by persons who hold that point of view. I know that the facts relate that I was extremely frustrated personally because I’d been asking for this to be done even before we came into 2025. So, as I said, I just had enough. So I went to Cabinet and said, ‘I’m no longer prepared to have these companies and their insurers frustrate the process. Let us take a decision.'”
The tragic incident occurred in February 2022, when the five LMCS divers contracted to working for Paria Fuel Trading Company were performing maintenance on an oil pipeline near Pointe-à-Pierre and were sucked into the pipeline.
Prime Minister Young said the families of four deceased divers, Kazim Ali Jr., Yusuf Henry, Fyzal Kurban, and Rishi Nagassar, will receive the monies, while the lone survivor, Christopher Boodram, who managed to escape by crawling through the pipeline, will also benefit from the payment.
However, Mr. Young said it is being made without any admission of liability.
“With respect to the payment of money, that will now need to be conducted by the Ministry of Finance, and make sure that they cover what needs to be covered. So I can’t give an exact date. I would like it paid as soon as possible.”
The Prime Minister believes this is the right approach for the Government to pursue.
“Do I expect this to become political? The answer is yes, of course I do. But I know at the end of the day, and I’m satisfied that the Government would have done what it can, albeit in my view, maybe a bit late, but not due to the circumstances, not for want of us trying.”
Prime Minister Young stated that this is a decision by the Government, not by Paria or LMCS, noting that the Government is not engaged with any lawyers to pay the monies to the families.